Volvo Cars has safety at the forefront of everything it has done for the past 95 years, and it aims to continue its leadership in automotive safety for the next century with a greater focus on the psychological aspects that pave the way towards redefining how safety is perceived.

Volvo envisioned a goal 15 years ago that no one should be killed or seriously injured in a new Volvo car, and though that goal has yet to be reached, the carmaker now knows why – beyond dealing with external factors, it is also the driver that needs to be better understood.

When you feel safe, you can be truly free, asserts Volvo, and the view comes as part of its latest efforts that have led to the Swedish automaker considering safety from different perspectives.

Through its ongoing studies as part of its ambition towards not just protecting lives in the car, but also to help people live their best lives, Volvo now strives to achieve greater road safety by better understanding how certain conditions or circumstances may affect you, the driver.

What time of the day is a driver most likely to be distracted? What distracts the most when driving, and why? What feelings affect a driver the most when driving, or conversely, does driving affect one’s feelings – does heartbreak increase one’s braking distance, and does joy present a safety hazard?

These questions and more are part of Volvo’s latest ‘For Life’ campaign, as Volvo works to better understand driver psychology; no matter how safe Volvo can make its cars, they are only as safe as the minds operating them, says the automaker. That’s because the conditions of personal life aren’t put on hold when someone takes the wheel; their thoughts and emotions are taken along for the drive, too.

These are important points, particularly as in Malaysia we are soon approaching a festive season where a vast majority of the population will be taking to the roads for prolonged journeys as family visits become especially prolific during this time.

Once again, the driver is key to a safe journey, and so the aforementioned points are addressed and questions are posed on the Volvo Car Malaysia website here, and readers can partake in the pop-up questionnaire (located approximately halfway down the page).

Volvo Cars also portrays various personalities in their respective fields of expertise, who are drawn on what conditions make them feel safe – watch each of them in their element in the video below. The individuals depicted are musician Seinabo Sey, Paralympic track champion Liu Cuiqing and skateboarder Sky Brown.